Tag: indie music

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Madison Deaver – Denim

Artist: Madison Deaver

Song: Denim

Genres: #altrock, #poprock

Location: Los Angeles, United States

Release date: August, 2022.

Comment: Madison Deaver could have chosen the easier path to stardom by becoming a hip-hop artist. Instead, she’s been compared to the garage days of Gwen Stefani and Avril Lavigne, with her music ranging from alternative rock to punk rock, and I applaud her for that. Her new single Denim might be her best one so far and it is as energetic and anthemic as you could expect. Lyrically, Madison complains about people who think relationships are like denim, as if they would last forever no matter how badly one person is treated. Overall, this track is an absolute banger.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

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Northwest Stories – That Isn’t Me

Photo credits: Alyssa Fink (@limitlys.photography)

Artist: Northwest Stories

Song: That Isn’t Me

Genres: #indiefolk

Location: Idaho, United States

Influences: Ben Rector, Novo Amor, Bon Iver

Release date: June, 2022

Comment: That Isn’t Me is a gorgeous folk song about focusing on what’s good in life instead of feeling stuck. Northwest Stories‘ lead vocalist, Adam Fink, got a calming voice you won’t want to stop listening to but, on top of that, they recording this song in 432 Hz as opposed to the standard 440 Hz, in order to make it even more soothing. Trust me, it works.

Northwest Stories is composed of Adam (vocals, guitar, piano) and RJ Rouse (background vocals, producer, engineer) and even though most of their songs are written about God, their music can appeal everybody, not just Christians. That Isn’t Me is a great example of that. Enjoy this lovely track!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie

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Blue Cove – Thrive

Blue Cove - Thrive

Artist: Blue Cove

Song: Thrive

Genres: #shoegazepop #90srock

Influences: Slowdive, Alex G.

Location:  Chicago, United States

Release date: June, 2022

Comment: Life is funny. Stephanie Nikolas and Eric Breden were high school friends and neighbors, but it wasn’t until they were in their 20s that they started to see each other as partners, both musically and romantically. This sparked Blue Cove into life, which they describe –accurately, I must say– as a blend of modern indie pop with the “nostalgic shoegaze sensibilities of the 90’s”. With a DIY mentality, Steph and Eric do everything related to Blue Cove, and I mean everything, not just mixing and producing their music: from designing their own merch and artwork to capturing their own press photos to filming their music videos. From what I can tell, they’re pretty good at all of those things.

Thrive is the title track of Blue Cove‘s forthcoming debut album (to be released in October), and it is both dazzling and delicate, if such a combination is indeed possible. Think Mazzy Star, but more dynamic. Lyrically, the song talks about thriving despite dealing with social anxiety and negative thoughts, something a lot of us can relate to. Unfortunately, there’s no music video for this vibrant track yet, but you can check below a little guitar piece they wrote and uploaded to Youtube. Absolutely gorgeous.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Indie

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Burlington – Mind For Mind

Artist: Burlington

Song: Mind For Mind

Genres: #indierock #altrock

Influences: Sam Fender, The 1975, The Wombats

Location:  London, United Kingdom

Release date: April, 2022

Comment: Some people have a gift for making addictive melodies without much effort and I believe that is the case of Matthew Ellis, a London-based producer/singer/multi-instrumentalist who releases a “chill-in-the-park” kind of indie rock music as Burlington. In April, he released his debut album, Daylight Sipping, with several examples of what I said above, That being said, the opening track, Mind For Mind, is my favorite one. I just love that guitar riffs that introduces you to the song and the overall vibe of the piece. It could fit in a Coldplay album (one of the good ones).

The most amazing part is that Burlington recorded this album alone in his spare bedroom, except for one track that he co-wrote with two friends (Roots). Just imagine what he could have done in a professional studio. Seriously, check this talented musician out.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Indie

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Eighty Ninety – The Night Sky

Artist: Eighty Ninety

Song: The Night Sky

Genres: #indiepop

Location: New York City, United States

Release date: June, 2022.

Comment: NYC indie-pop duo Eighty Ninety was featured here first in March 2021 with their single Forever. They continued releasing singles during this time and last month they finally dropped an EP that contains not only those singles, including Forever, but also three brand new ones: “Walking You Home“, “Thinking of You” and the title track “The Night Sky“. The latter is my favorite one even though all songs got infectious hooks and superb production.

The Night Sky is a sweet and romantic song about seeing your whole future in the eyes of the person you fell for. In fact, if you’d like to make a mixtape for a loved one, this would be an ideal first track.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop

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The Head & The Heart – Hurts (But It Goes Away)

Hurts (But It Goes Away)

Artist: The Head & The Heart

Song: Hurts (But It Goes Away)

Genres: #indiefolk

Location: Seattle, United States

Release date: April, 2022

Comment: They’re not The Lumineers famous, but with 5 pretty successful studio albums, The Head & The Heart are definitely a well-known band. Named after the dichotomy of doing what your head says or following your heart, the band recently released their fifth studio album: Every Shade of Blue, which includes today’s recommended track: “Hurts (But It Goes Away)“. It’s perhaps the most upbeat track in that record and also a perfect piece of folk-pop. I particularly like the following lyrics that they sing in the chorus: ““tell me that I’m going to be okay, tell me that life’s going to find a way…”.

Unfortunately, this earworm doesn’t have an official video (yet) but here’s a live version they performed on Jimmy Kimmel’s show.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie

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Gallipoli – Blurry Mess

Artist: Gallipoli

Song: Blurry Mess

Genres: #indiefolk

Location: Los Angeles, United States

Release date: April, 2022

Comment: Gallipoli means “beautiful city” in Greek. It is also the name of a region in Turkey as well as a military campaign during World War I. In fact, it was the ‘Battle of Gallipoli’ which inspired Aman Sheriff and Lucas McCone to name their LA-based indie folk act: Gallipoli, as a homage to their family history. Both musicians got several years of experience as music producers and film composers, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that they decided to make music together.

Back in April, they released On Vondo, their debut EP, which consists of four beautiful tracks and was written during the 2020 lockdown when the pair lived in North Macedonia for six months. All four tracks are really nice but my favourite, Blurry Mess, is simply special. I just love the switch in gears around the 2:30 mark. The song, which talks about an out of sync couple full of doubts, will remind you of artists such as Bon Iver and Lord Huron.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie

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The Trusted – Millennium

Artist: The Trusted

Song: Millennium

Genres: #indierock #altrock

Influences: Catfish and the Bottlemen, The 1975, Elvis Costello

Location:  Southend on Sea, United Kingdom

Release date: April, 2022

Comment: Continuing with the theme of T.A.M. regulars, we have today what could be The Trusted‘s best single to date: Millennium. A song about coming of age in the 21st century, this vibrant indie rock track combines traditional rock instruments with synths and other subtle electronic elements, giving it a sound that’s both modern and classic.

The Southend-on-Sea natives recorded Millennium in SS2 Studios and got help from producer Rees Broomfield and Grammy-nominated Andy Bradfield (Elbow, David Gray, Rufus Wainwright), who mixed the single. As you can see, this is a pristine and well-rounded track. Below you can find its lyrics video and, as a bonus, an acoustic rendition of this song that The Trusted performed flawlessly. Enjoy!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Indie

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Jillian Lake – Steady Hands

Artist: Jillian Lake

Song: Steady Hands

Genres: #indiefolk #singersongwriter

Location: Vancouver, Canada

Release date: April, 2022

Comment:  It is common knowledge that some of the best art comes out of feeling heartbroken. It was that aching feeling that inspired indie artist Jillian Lake to write Steady Hands, a luscious and stripped-down single that forms part of her brand new album Younger Then. After reaching over 100K plays on one of her most recent singles, Jillian is set to keep expanding her audience with her new work.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie

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Joe Holt – Who Cares

Artist: Joe Holt

Song: Who Cares

Genres: #indiefolk

Location: New York City, United States

Release date: April, 2022

Comment: If you like indie folk music, then you have to give this song, Who Cares, a chance. With its sweet melody and Joe’s ethereal vocals, it’s hard not to fall in love with this track that this talented #singersongwriter wrote during the pandemic to reflect the helplessness we were all feeling –and to some extent still feel–, at the time. Who Cares is the second single from Joe Holt‘s new full-length album, Tired of Trying. Having graduated from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in 2015, this folk-rock artist has released four EPs and three full albums already, all worth checking out.

You can find the studio version of this gorgeous track in the mixtapes below but here’s a live rendition of it. Enjoy:

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie